By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — No matter the score, Weslaco High coach Mario Rodriguez doesn’t want his players to get complacent.
Between innings, he recites the same message — “Keep going! Just score and keep going!” — hoping it resonates with his players.
Last year, the Lady Panthers won a district title for the first time in program history — albeit a three-way tie for first place — before quickly being bounced out of the playoffs by Brownsville Veterans Memorial. With heightened expectations now, Weslaco is determined to not only win, but do it convincingly.
It’s been a driving force behind the team’s 7-1 start, including four shutout victories, after beating Lyford 12-0 in three innings Thursday to open the Weslaco ISD Tournament.
“Winning district was big,” Rodriguez said. “But I think this team has bigger goals and expectations, to go further in the playoffs.
“We have to make sure when they’re on the field, they have to bring their A-game. They have to give 100 percent.”
Most of the pieces are in place. Weslaco graduated five players and returned 11. Though it has no seniors this year, it isn’t starved for leadership.
It returns Madelyn Ybarra, an All-Valley first team outfielder, and a capable ace in Taylor Tafolla. Alyssa Escamilla is expected to provide relief in the circle, in addition to her shortstop duties, potentially putting her in tandem with her sister, Audrey Escamilla, who is a freshman catcher.
Across the lineup, the Lady Panthers have hitters. How consistent they deliver, though, will be the question as the season unfolds.
So far, Rodriguez believes he has one of the more complete teams in his 11-year tenure. Very quickly, Weslaco has shown a knack for stringing together multiple runs. It has the athletes to be successful on both ends on the field — with its base running, and speed on defense — and it’s been evident just two weeks into the season.
“We’re just striving for bigger and better things,” Alyssa Escamilla said. “That’s the one thing Coach Rod tells us all time: even though we’re up, don’t take it easy.”
Ybarra has been through the highs and lows. She was part of the team in 2014, when it fell short of making the playoffs. And she was a key contributor on a district-title winning team last year that entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
What changed? Ybarra points to the team’s communication, and the added layer of confidence that stemmed from winning.
“It was awesome,” Ybarra said. “We realized we could do so much. We put that in our heads during the offseason, and we practiced hard.”
Despite the first-round ouster, the Lady Panthers carry increased expectations. They have the players in place, the memory of last year’s playoff exit fresh in their minds, and a competitive upcoming schedule to challenge them throughout the season.
“I feel like now we know what we could do and what we’re capable of,” Alyssa Escamilla said. “We know what’s expected of us, so we just have to work hard to get there.”